Add a new page

Recent Blogs

Highlighted Page

The Johan Sverdrup Oil Field development has been given the green light and major contracts have been awarded. Johan Sverdrup is among the largest oil fields on the Norwegian shelf, and will at peak contribute with 25% of the production from the Norwegian shelf.

Most Recently Updated Pages

Probably the most exciting project in the world of Oil & Gas. The platform will be the largest ship ever built

Introduction

Oman is the largest oil and natural gas producer in the Middle East that is not a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)

According to the Oil & Gas Journal, Oman had 5.5 billion barrels of proved oil reserves as of January 2013. Oman's only export crude stream is the Oman blend, which is a medium-light and sour (high sulfur) crude. After declining for several years in the early 2000s, enhanced oil recovery (EOR) techniques, such as steam injection and miscible injection, have been the key driver of Oman's rebounding oil production since 2007.

Oman held 30 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of proved natural gas reserves as of January 2013, according to the Oil & Gas Journal. In 2011, the country was the 5th largest dry natural gas producer in the Middle East and the 26th largest producer worldwide. Oman uses a significant portion of its natural gas production in oil extraction, reinjecting 22% of its dry production in 2012, according to IHS Global Insight.

History

1967 - The oil tanker Mosprince arrived at Mina al Fahal (or Saih al Maleh, as it was then known) to load the Sultanate’s first export cargo of crude oil

Regulation

Oman's Ministry of Oil and Gas coordinates the state's role in the country's hydrocarbon sectors. Final approval on policy and investment, however, rests with the sultan of Oman.

Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) holds the vast majority of Oman's oil reserves and is responsible for 70% of its production, according to the Middle East Economic Survey. In addition to the government's 60% ownership stake in PDO, Shell (34%), Total (4%), and Portugal's Partex (2%) all own stakes in PDO.

The Oman Oil Company (OOC), which is responsible for energy investments both inside and outside of Oman, is fully government-owned. The Oman Oil Refineries and Petroleum Industries Company (ORPIC) controls the country's refining sector and owns both of Oman's operating refineries.

Upstream

As of 2013, there are exploration and production activities in 28 of Oman's exploration blocks, according to the Ministry of Oil and Minerals. Oman anticipates awarding 2 onshore exploration blocks in late 2013, and plans to put another 7 blocks (4 onshore and 3 offshore) to tender in the near future. Nearly all of Oman's oil production comes from the Oman Basin, which spans most of the country.

There are also a few small fields in the northern exclave on the Musandam Peninsula, all of them located offshore. In November 2012, the first offshore production in the country occurred in Block 8 off the coast of the Musandam Peninsula.

The opening of the Oman LNG facility in 2000 helped spur Oman's dry natural gas production, which grew by 66% between 2000 and 2011. Official government data indicate that Oman's gross natural gas production grew to more than 1.2 Tcf in 2012, an increase of nearly 9% from the 2011 total. Nearly 83% of the country's production in 2012 came from non-associated formations, according to government figures.

Gas fields are operated by PDO exclusively on behalf of the Omani Government

Active Companies

Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) is the major exploration and production company in the Sultanate. It accounts for about 90% of the country's crude-oil production and nearly all of its natural-gas supply

The government enlists foreign companies in new exploration and production projects, offering generous terms for developing fields that require the sophisticated technology and expertise of the private sector. Given the technical difficulties involved in oil production in Oman, the contract terms for international oil companies (IOCs) have become more favorable in Oman than elsewhere in the region, some allowing significant equity stakes in certain projects.

Occidental Petroleum has the largest presence of any foreign firm and is the second largest oil-producer in Oman. Other major players with interests in Oman include Shell, Total, Partex, BP, CNPC, KoGas, and Repsol.

Midstream

Oman does not have any international oil pipelines, although there are plans to expand the country's domestic pipeline infrastructure. Plans include building a pipeline that connects the planned storage terminal at Duqm with the existing export infrastructure in the center of the country.

Another proposal, if executed, would connect Oman's two operating refineries in an effort to reduce tanker traffic between the two coastal facilities. The project's later phases include plans to construct new storage facilities, with the goal of enabling Oman to hold up to 30 days of fuel reserves.